Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Johanna Walker is used to taking charge. But she’s about to meet someone who will make her lose control....

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may
not—fly.

But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as obsessed with getting to know Jo, but her walls are too solid to let him get close enough to even try.Then Cam moves into the flat below Jo’s, and their blistering connection becomes impossible to ignore. Especially since Cam is determined to
uncover all of Jo’s secrets…even if it means taking apart her defenses piece by piece.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Back in
August 2011 I wrote a post on my self-publishing journey so far and what it
took to be successful in self-publishing. Since the release of On Dublin Street,
and because of some of the media I’ve done here in Scotland, I’ve had quite a
number of emails from aspiring writers enquiring about the ins and outs of
self-publishing. Unfortunately, life is manic right now and I’m unable to
answer everyone, so I thought I’d do an updated post on self-publishing.

I’m not
an expert, and with the changing face of the publishing industry, I’m like
every author—learning something new every day. It seems to be clear from my own
experience and from others that, currently, the ebook Top 100 lists are the new
slush pile. Writers can spend months, years, sending out their manuscript and
receiving rejection after rejection (that’s if it even makes it off the slush
pile) or they can self-publish, hone their craft, gain experience, build a
readership and hopefully one day make it into a top 100 list and catch the eye
of an agent or a publisher. It’s really down to the individual and what they
want out of writing.

For those
writers serious about making self-publishing a full-time career, I can only
tell you about my own experiences and how that’s colored my opinion on what I
believe it takes to be successful as an independent writer.

Quality

When I
began self-publishing in February 2011, self-pubbing was really beginning to
take off among aspiring writers, particularly in the U.S. Now the marketplace
is filled with indie writers. This is great for readers, but it also makes it
harder for indies to stand out in the crowd. One of the very basic ways to do
this is by paying attention to one word: quality. Just as there are a lot of
indie books out there that are polished and professional, there are those that
are not. It’s clear not even a copyeditor has taken a look over some of them,
never mind an editor. Get an editor. A good one. Sometimes it can take a while
to find a good one, but it’s worth it. Moreover, find beta readers you trust to
read your work as you’re writing it. Their input can be invaluable.

As well
as a good editor invest in a good cover artist. When your cover art is
professional it tells the reader on a subconscious level that the author means
business. Cover art is also a great piece of marketing. A great image can draw
readers in even more than a blurb. It’s not just about cover art though.
Typography is really important too. I do all my own typography using Photoshop
and it took me a number of months to finally get it right—sometimes the
simplest font has the greatest impact.

Quantity

Quantity
and quality go hand in hand.When I
first researched self-publishing I realized it was the authors with a healthy
catalogue of books who were making enough money to write full-time. Even if
their books weren’t doing overwhelmingly good individually, collectively they
were doing well enough to generate a healthy income. This point doesn’t always
stand up to the evidence. There are independent writers out there who have been
incredibly successful with their debut novel and are living quite nicely off
the royalties from that one book, but for the vast majority of authors a
catalogue of books is where part of the success of being a full-time writer
lies.

And
momentum is everything.

When I
first started out I already had a trilogy written and I published it over the
first three months while I wrote a fourth novel. After I published the fourth
novel I worked my ass off writing a fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth novel.
Fifteen months later I’d published ten young adult novels and a novella. This
momentum (and constant promo and marketing) kept me on reader’s radars. I
really believe this plays a huge part in being successful as an indie. For
example, since the success of On Dublin Street and being picked up by Penguin,
my life has been chaotically busy because of this series, and that means my
self-pubbed titles haven’t received near as much attention as I usually give
them. I haven’t self-published a young adult book since last July. The
collective monthly sales of my self-pubbed books have more than halved since
July 2012 because I’ve dropped momentum. So that’s something to be aware of
when you take the plunge.

Promoting and Marketing

Promoting
and Marketing is so important. I always tell people when they ask me about
self-publishing that you can’t go into it with hopes of becoming a full-time
writer unless you’re willing to work your ass off. At first I sacrificed a lot
of my social life for self-pubbing because between writing, formatting and
promoting my books it really is a 24/7 gig.

Promo and
marketing doesn’t need to cost money, however. As an avid reader I already
stalked quite a few book bloggers so when I started out I contacted them
individually, letting them know how much I enjoyed their blog (I never mass
email bloggers), that I knew who they were and I was specifically interested in
them either reviewing my book, hosting a guest post, interview or giveaway.
Bloggers take time out of their very busy lives to review books and their word
of mouth about a book can do wonders to its sales. They deserve respect and
politeness. The vast majority of them don’t like being treated like a random
number you’ve emailed, so I advise against it.

Another
free way to promo is through social media sites—Blogger, Facebook, Twitter,
Goodreads, Wattpad, Movellas. Not only are these a great way to connect with
your readers but a wonderful way to promote your work. Information on these
sites can travel fast, especially if you network with other indie authors. The
community is amazing and most of us are surprisingly helpful, so connect with
us. It’s a great way to ask advice, give advice and share experiences and
readerships.

There are
a number of platforms for self-publishing. The platforms for ebooks that I’ve
used are KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) by Amazon and Smashwords. KDP is very
user-friendly and Amazon provide an easy formatting guide for authors to follow
before publishing to the program. For authors looking to publish on other ebook
retail sites such as Apple, Sony, B&N and Kobo, Smashwords is the platform
to use. You can upload your ebook to Smashwords using their formatting
guidelines and then Smashwords will distribute your ebook to the different
retailers. The percentage they take on top of the royalty rate is very
reasonable.

Barnes& Noble also has a self-pubbing platform called Pubit. It only allowed U.S.
authors to self-publish with them but has now expanded Pubit into the UK market.

To
self-publish a paperback, I use Amazon’s CreateSpace. Now you can either pay
someone to do the formatting for you (and that will save you a lot of
hair-pulling) or do it yourself. I had no money when I started out so I format
my paperbacks myself. I find Photoshop very helpful in that endeavor :)

Anyhoo, I
hope this helps somewhat for newbies. Good luck and Happy Writing.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Tomorrow the paperback edition of On Dublin Street hits UK bookstores! I'm thinking seeing the book on shelves here will finally bring a little reality to the situation :p

If you're going to be near Edinburgh tomorrow, why not drop by for the UK book launch. I'll be at Waterstones, 83 George Street from 6pm-8pm celebrating the release and answering your questions! There will be wine!

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Johanna Walker is used to taking charge. But she’s about to meet someone who will make her lose control....

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly
her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother,
she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as
she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they
can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may
not—fly.
But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is
undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every
time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs
first. Cam is just as obsessed with getting to know Jo, but her walls
are too solid to let him get close enough to even try.
Then
Cam moves into the flat below Jo’s, and their blistering connection
becomes impossible to ignore. Especially since Cam is determined to
uncover all of Jo’s secrets…even if it means taking apart her defenses
piece by piece.

***

Many of you managed to drop by last night for the Twitter chat which was excellent. I had so much fun attempting to answer all your questions. I’m so sorry if I missed any! We had a lot of participants and the chat was moving at such a rapid pace.

Many questions were about whether Joss and Braden would be making an appearance in Down London Road (ODS#2) and why I decided to write about Jo’s character for book two. As you can see from my answers, yes, Joss and Braden are in book two, as are Ellie and Adam and the rest of the Nichols family. I hope their presence make readers happy and should give you all a glimpse into their relationship beyond On Dublin Street.

So readers asked ‘why Jo?’ And why not continue with Joss and Braden?

Well, I am so amazed and blown away by readers’ response to these two characters. I love that you love them and I know some of you were hoping that the sequel would be a continuation of their romance. For me, and for some of you as well, their story has been told— the important part of the story, the interesting part, the story that was really Joss’ story has been told. It was her journey to finding a sense of peace, and how Braden and Ellie gave her that peace. Continuing their story would mean throwing drama at them for the sake of plot, and really that doesn’t fit their characters or how far they’ve come as a couple.

Instead, I looked beyond Joss and Braden and discovered Jo. For those of you trying to remember, Jo is Joss’ friend and colleague at Club 39, the bar she works in. In ODS Jo is described as a nice girl, devoted to her brother, but a bit of a gold digger. Jo definitely has a story to tell. A rich story about family, friendship, self-confidence, self-respect and most of all about falling in love when we least expect it. The hero of Down London Road is Cameron MacCabe, a tattooed bartender/graphic designer who completely derails Jo’s plans and determination. Although very different characters from Joss and Braden, in very different situations, Jo and Cam’s relationship is a particularly tense, fiery and passionate one and I hope you fall in love with the two of them just as much as you have with Joss and Braden.

Down London Road is out May 7th 2013 in the US and is available to preorder in paperback from Amazonand Barnes & Noble.

It will be available to preorder in Kindle and Nook edition soon and I’ll update the blog with those links as soon as they are live.

The UK release date is yet to be announced but I will update you all as soon as I know more.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

I hope you all had a great time bringing in the
new year. I… well… I’m not huge on new year celebrations. I don’t know why but
it’s the one celebration I can take or leave. Technically, I can’t leave it,
otherwise I’d be trapped in the previous year. But you get what I mean. This
year I watched Avatar and The Amazing Spiderman on my new Blu-Ray player. Now
you really know how much of a geek I am.

Do you all write down new year resolutions and
aspirations? I quit writing resolutions a long time ago because, well,
I don’t like setting myself up to fail, and when your resolutions are
predominately centered around cutting out chocolate and diet Coke, you’re just asking
for it.

However, this year I thought I’d write down some
of my hopes and plans for 2013. So here they are in no particular order…

1) See my friends and family have a happy 2013 -
cue the awws if you must, but it’s true. My family and friends rock. - Hope

2) Become proficient at Wii tennis and Zumba
Core. - Plan

3) Visit the U.S. and meet some of my awesome
readers over there. - Plan

4) See the day when Milo (my parents’ one year
old puppy) masters the art of peeing. At the moment he’s cocking his leg so
high (we're convinced he thinks he's a ninja) he keeps losing balance and peeing on himself (not a very good ninja, mind you). We’ll get him through it.
2013 is his year to prevail! - Hope

5) Visit Lake Como and avoid the internet for at
least a week. - Plan

6) See On Dublin Street do well in its paperback
release - Hope

7) Wear each pair of shoes I own at least once
this year - Hope

8) Release at least three new books - Plan

9) Figure out how the hell my coffee maker works
- Hope

10) See the number of people’s toes I drive over
reduced by one this year - Plan

11) Discover lots of new readers - Hope

12) Put one of my cookbooks to use for once and
not just as a something to lean on - Plan

So that's me for 2013... have you written yours? Well, whatever they are, I'm wishing you all an amazing year to come.

SAMANTHA YOUNG

Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author from Scotland. She's been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Author and Best Romance for her international bestselling novel ON DUBLIN STREET. ON DUBLIN STREET is Samantha's first adult contemporary romance series and has been sold in twenty eight countries.